I really enjoyed that in the case of “The Roof is on Fire” teenagers were given the opportunity and ability to speak about problems that affect them personally and on a wider scale, while most of the time in society, the younger generation is told to be quiet and is often suppressed. Our generation is getting louder which is inspiring, however louder doesn’t necessarily mean we are heard. It’s important that these conversations were improvisational as scripted conversations are often censored, and it’s important young people have the ability to speak without censorship because otherwise real problems won’t be talked about and the hope of resolving it goes out the window along with the truth. I also appreciate that the police were involved in a dicussion because of the immense problems in the police and justice systems concerning people of color and their treatment. What could we do today at CalArts to start a similar conversation concerning what upsets us as young people today i.e. climate change, racism, ableism, etc? What happens after this conversation, does anything change or do we all go back eventually to what came before? What can we do as individuals to begin conversations that aren’t always comfortable, but need to begin?

(Post from 2.4.20)